Page History
...
Next
...
we
...
turn
...
our
...
attention
...
to
...
the
...
implications
...
that
...
the
...
Internet
...
of
...
Things
...
brings
...
to
...
the
...
CVD
...
discussion.
...
"Smart
...
things"
...
are
...
expected
...
to
...
outnumber
...
traditional
...
computers
...
in
...
the
...
near
...
future
...
and
...
will
...
likely
...
surpass
...
mobile
...
phones
...
not
...
long
...
thereafter.
...
IoT
...
will
...
have
...
implications
...
to
...
the
...
protection
...
of
...
privacy,
...
opportunities
...
for
...
fraud
...
and
...
abuse,
...
and
...
ensuring
...
safety.
...
Every
...
vulnerable
...
thing
...
becomes
...
a
...
potential
...
point
...
of
...
leverage
...
for
...
an
...
attacker
...
to
...
persist
...
or
...
maneuver
...
laterally
...
through
...
a
...
network.
...
Immature
...
security
...
on
...
IoT
...
devices
...
can
...
leak
...
information
...
that
...
could
...
allow
...
an
...
attacker
...
to
...
gain
...
a
...
foothold.
...
Because
...
many
...
such
...
systems
...
and
...
devices
...
are
...
expected
...
to
...
remain
...
operationally
...
useful
...
for
...
years
...
or
...
even
...
decades
...
with
...
minimal
...
intervention,
...
it
...
is
...
especially
...
important
...
that
...
their
...
security
...
be
...
thoroughly
...
understood
...
prior
...
to
...
deployment.
...
This
...
section
...
collects
...
a
...
number
...
of
...
issues
...
we
...
observed
...
in
...
the
...
course
...
of
...
recent
...
work
...
done
...
by
...
the
...
CERT
...
Vulnerability
...
Analysis
...
team,
...
and
...
is
...
adapted
...
from
...
a
...
CERT/CC
...
blog
...
post
...
by
...
Householder
...
\[156\].
...
Black
...
Boxes
...
Anchor
...
...
Unrecognized Subcomponents
...
...
...
Long-Lived and Hard-to-Patch
| Wiki Markup |
|---|
<ac:structured-macro ac:name="anchor" ac:schema-version="1" ac:macro-id="80ff0072-61d0-4db3-a900-692f6f6faf48"><ac:parameter ac:name="">Longlived_and_hardtopatch_syst</ac:parameter></ac:structured-macro>We observed various devices with wireless data capabilities embedded within a larger system yet little or no ability to patch the fielded systems except within very sparse service windows. Instances where physical contact with the device is required in order to update it can be especially problematic once vulnerabilities are discovered. (See Dan Geer's talk at the Security of Things Forum for more on the "long-lived and not reachable" problem \[157\].) |
...
Anchor
New Interfaces Bring New Threats
We also encountered smart grid devices built out of a traditional electrical component coupled to an embedded Linux system to provide networked services. In a deployment context, the device was treated as an appliance. However, the impact of potential vulnerabilities in the general-purpose operating system embedded in the device had not been fully addressed.
...
Summarizing the IoT's Impact on CVD
We anticipate that many of the current gaps in security analysis tools and knowledge will begin to close over the next few years. However, it may be some time before we can fully understand how the systems already available today, let alone tomorrow, will impact the security of the networks onto which they are placed. The scope of the problem does not appear to contract any time soon.
We already live in a world where mobile devices outnumber traditional computers, and IoT stand to dwarf mobile computing in terms of the sheer number of devices within the next few years. As vulnerability discovery tools and techniques evolve into this space, so must our tools and processes for coordination and disclosure. Assumptions built into the CVD process about disclosure timing, coordination channels, development cycles, scanning, patching, and so on, will need to be reevaluated in the light of hardware-based systems that are likely to dominate the future internet.
Overview
Content Tools